A Solid and Lasting Peace
by chacus.amucus.kilier
Summary: While filing for a license to marry Astoria, Draco discovers he is already married. To Harry Potter.


_Mr. Malfoy,_

_I regret to inform you that I cannot currently process your request for a marriage license to_

_Miss Astoria Greengrass_

_due to your current marriage to_

_Mr. Harry Potter-Malfoy._

_Kindly,_

_Suzette Robbins_

_Head of Marriages_

_Ministry of Magic, Department of Records_

"Is that our marriage license?" Draco remained cool and aloof on the outside as his fiancée drew his attention.

"No, dear," he replied evenly. "Just a note that something's come up that I need to take care of."

"Alright," she replied cautiously, sensing a hint of the rage that was filling him.

He strode over the fireplace, threw down a pinch of floo powder, and called out for the Ministry without another thought, focused solely on getting to the bottom of this rubbish about a marriage to _Potter_.

* * *

When he reached the office of this Suzette Robbins, he took a moment to collect himself. After knocking on the door, he heard a gentle voice politely bid him to come in. Upon entering the small room filled with a simple oak desk and a seemingly endless number of file cabinets, Draco saw that the voice belonged to a petite, middle-aged, brunette witch who was seated behind the desk, signing her name to the bottom of a parchment. She replaced the quill in an ink bottle and moved the parchment to the side before acknowledging him with a simple, "What can I do for you?"

"I just received this letter from you in reference to my request for a marriage license," he explained as he passed her the note still clutched tightly in his hand. "I would like to see the record for my _previous_ _marriage_."

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," she responded after scanning the missive. She stood and stepped to a cabinet near the corner of her desk. When she tapped the top with her wand, a drawer with a single file in it popped open on the other side of the room. She stepped over to retrieve it and handed the single parchment inside to Draco before returning to the chair behind her desk.

_Marriage Certificate_

_for_

_Draco Lucius Malfoy_

_and_

_Harry James Potter_

_Date: April 3, 1999_

_Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Married by Certificate of Double Proxy_

_Bride: Harry James Potter, 18_

_12 Grimmauld Place, London_

_Student_

_Groom: Draco Malfoy, 18_

_Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire_

_Student_

_Both Bride and Groom were of full age at the time of marriage._

_Presided over by Blaise Zabini._

_Witnesses:_

_Pansy Parkinson (representative for Bride)_

_Theodore Nott (representative for Groom)_

_Millicent Bulstrode_

_Tracey Davis_

Draco's rage intensified at seeing the names on the certificate. "I need a copy of this," he demanded to the witch behind the desk as he passed the parchment back to her.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," she replied as she pulled a blank piece of parchment from a desk drawer. She quickly wrote 'COPY' in large, red letters at the top before performing the charm to copy the certificate onto the new parchment. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked as she passed him the copy.

"No. Thank you," he replied tersely before turning and leaving the office. He quickly made his way back to the floos in the atrium. After stepping into an empty fireplace, he called out, "Zabini Manor, study."

* * *

Blaise was sitting at his desk looking over accounting books for the restraint he owned when he heard the floo behind him activate. He turned, wondering which if his friends was dropping by unannounced, only to find Draco stalking toward him, no longer hiding the anger he was feeling. "Draco, wha-"

"What do you know about this?" the blonde hissed, dropping the copied certificate on the desk and making his way to the bar on the adjacent wall. He poured himself two fingers of scotch as his dark friend looked over the paper.

"Oh."

"Yes. Oh." The glare Draco gave Blaise was murderous at best. "Explain."

"You had left the common room to do your patrols as Head. Pansy decided she wanted to play truth or dare and we joined her. After a couple of rounds, she dared me to snog Graham Pritchard. He was the mousey boy that started in our fourth year but, with the war, he was a fifth year at the time. When the turns got back around to me, I wanted to get some revenge so I dared her to take Theo back to our room and go down on him. When it got back to her, she was feeling pretty vindictive so she dared me to marry you and Potter."

_"And how am I supposed to do that, Pansy dear?" Blaise asked with a smug smirk. "Potter would only agree if it would save the world and our dear Draco wouldn't even agree then."_

_"Why, Blaise. Don't tell me you haven't heard of double proxy?"_

_"Double proxy? What the hell is that?" Blaise asked, suddenly unsure if he would be able to get out of it._

_"It's an ancient marriage law. When neither the bride nor the groom could be present, they used two representatives," she explained with glee as she watched Blaise's face fall. "Now all we need is the head of a family," she added, smirking at Blaise pointedly._

_Blaise's father had died 'mysteriously' - everyone knew the stories of death that plagued Lady Zabini's husbands - a few weeks after Blaise's birth. Blaise had then inherited the title of Lord Zabini with his mother as executor. On Blaise's seventeenth birthday in February of the previous year, he had gained control of the family._

_"Fine, _Potter_." It was small but this would only be the beginning of his revenge._

"The rest, as they say, is history," Blaise finished tiredly. He was glad to finally be able to tell his friend what had occurred but was also scared of how this would affect their friendship. For slytherins, a true friend was rare and to lose one was devastating.

"Why did you not tell me before?" Draco asked, much calmer after hearing the story.

"To be honest, I feared you would fault me for my role in the proceedings," the darker man admitted.

Draco turned toward the windows and watched the fairies flitting around the garden as he mulled over the new information. After a few minutes, he turned back to his friend. "I only have one question: Have you gotten your revenge?"

Blaise smiled as he answered. "There have been a few petty things over the years but my real revenge won't start for another two months." Seeing the confusion on the blonde's face, he clarified, "Her betrothed, Marcus Flint, is on my payroll."

Draco smiled and shook his head as he walked toward the desk. He plucked a quill from an ink pot and scribbled a note at the bottom of the copied certificate as he asked to borrow an owl. After tying the parchment to the bird's leg, he said goodbye to his friend and flooed home to explain the situation to Astoria.

* * *

Harry was just finishing washing the dishes in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place when he heard a pecking at the window. He waved his hand in the direction of the window to open it and dried his hands before approaching the unfamiliar owl now sitting on the back of a chair. He gave it a treat before moving to untie the scroll. When the letter had been removed, the owl took off back out the window. "Guess they don't want a reply," the bespectacled man mumbled as he checked the message for hexes, curses, jinxes, and other nefarious magic. When it came up clean, he unfurled it and began to read, his confusion mounting as his eyes moved down the page. Finally, he reached the note scrawled in a curly, sophisticated hand that did nothing to help his understanding.

_Potter,_

_I'm filing for divorce._

_Malfoy_

* * *

A/N: This was written for selenehekate's Accidental Marriage competition on HPFC.

A few fun facts: double proxy marriages are legal in the state of Montana in the US and marriage due to a prank or dare is a reasonable excuse for divorce in the state of Delaware.

Please review and let me know what you think! :)


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